Nature is our best product developer

Skin is our largest organ and via its two-way pores for example all the chemical particles in our clothing can enter our bodies. Therefore, it’s not indifferent what we put on our skin. 

From the beginning we at Ruskovilla have believed that natural fibers are the best thing we can offer to our skin. For millennia mother nature has been our most important product developer and created each natural fiber its unique features for different uses. 

The wool, silk and cotton we use in our clothes, accessories and bedding are all certified organic. Our materials come from long-term responsible suppliers, and in order to gain their certificate they have to take excellent care of not only nature but also their workers. We on the other hand treat the fibers as little as possible: the dyeing processes takes place in a closed system with the use of reactive dyes, and we leave out the moth protection treatments harmful for both humans and nature. 

Wool – Warmth developed by sheep

The mulesing-free merino wool we use comes from trustworthy suppliers in Argentina and Uruguay. Smooth and non-itching merino wool comes only from a specific sheep breed as well as from the fine bottom layer of wool. From our experience the highest quality wool best suited for underwear material is certified organic merino wool which has long fibers, is seven times thinner than the wool from Finnish sheep and comes from the specific region in South America.

The sheep, who have for millennia lived in vastly different living and weather conditions, have taken care of product development process for us. Us humans can also benefit from the fact that wool keeps you warm in the cool climate and feels cool during warm weather. All this is thanks to the curly texture of the fiber.

In addition, wool can also absorb moisture, such as sweat or rain, up to 30% of its weight without feeling wet. Its surface is naturally dirt-repellent and it neutralizes odors such as sweat which are all important features when choosing clothing for active life. Compared to synthetic fibers wool is also very fire safe.

Because the well-being of your skin and therefore your entire body is important to us, we treat our wool carefully. The dyeing processes takes place in a closed system with the use of reactive dyes. Therefore, we don’t need to use chrom dyes or heavy metal salts and no dye residue comes against your skin. We also leave out the moth protection treatments harmful for both humans and nature.

Out of merino wool we sew a wide selection of clothing and accessories for the entire family, use it felted to make our wool fleece products, make middle nappies and card it to make filling for our duvets, pillows and mattress overlays.

Silkwool – The best qualities of silk and wool

Our silkwool combines 70% organic merino wool and 30% natural silk. Our long-fibered merino wool comes from Argentina and Uruguay and our smooth silk from China.

Both materials are good at evening out temperature differences: silkwool is cool in the summer and keeps you warm in the winter. Thinner than our 100% merino wool silkwool is excellent for wearing all year around. Both silk and wool can absorb moisture without feeling wet.

Out of silkwool to sew underwear for the entire family. It’s an ideal material for lounging and light activities but due to its thin structure it’s not recommended to be worn during heavy exercising.

Silk – Smooth enough for the emperors

We are proud to tell that we were the first to introduce clothes made out of certified organic silk to the Nordic market. The silk we use comes from Central China from an organic silk farm located in the Sichuan province. For millennia the mountain slopes have been used to manufacture silk according to the age-old traditions of diverse cultivation culture and handicraft-intensive labor.

Silk is produced by mulberry leavers eating bombyx mori. Compared to regular mass production silk organic silk differs mainly due to its high quality: after eating the organically farmed mulberry leaves a single caterpillar can produce up to 1 500 meters of uninterrupted and high-quality filament silk. Out of this filament silk Ruskovilla makes its organic silk clothing.

Silks light and breathable protein fibers are similar to human skin and therefore it feels extremely pleasant to wear. Due to the smooth structure it is well-suited for people with allergies or sensitive skin who can’t wear other materials. Silk also evens out temperature differences and can soak up moisture without feeling wet.

Organic silk production is handicraft-intensive and includes many steps. The bombyx mori caterpillars spin a cocoon around them out of thin silk thread. The cocoons are then collected by hand, brushed to remove the fragmented outer layer and after that the up to 1,5 km long uninterrupted silk thread is reeled. According to the organic manufacturing principles also other plants besides mulberry trees are grown in crop rotation around the farm, and the farm workers are taken care of so that they have a safe, equal and just working environment.

Our of organic silk we sew underwear and head wear for the entire family.

Cotton – Cool and durable plant fiber

Our certified and hand-picked organic cotton comes from India. The cotton in knitted in Finland and finished with soap wash.

Cotton is cool and breathable. Due to its smooth structure unbleached and undyed cotton is especially well-suited for people with allergies or sensitive skin. Cotton is very durable, and it can be washed regularly in high temperatures. It also absorbs moisture.

Out of cotton we sew underwear and clothes for babies and children. In addition, we use cotton for example in our pillows and duvets, waddling cloths and flannel nappies.

What excatly does organic mean?   

All certified organic fibers are natural fibers, but not all natural fibers are produced according to the organic production principles.

All the materials we use, such as wool, silk and cotton, have an organic raw material certificate that tells about the ecological and ethical principles that have been used to produce these organic fibers.  

From soil to closet

When pulling on a woolen undershirt few of us really stop to think about how long the wool’s journey is from a grazing sheep into a Ruskovilla shirt.  Or what it takes before a silk shirt caresses your skin and a cotton swaddle cloth sooths baby to sleep. 

Organic fiber certification begins from the soil that the sheep pasture, the mulberry trees that provide food for silkworms grow, and onto which the cotton seeds are sown.

In wool production it is important to pay attention to the fertility of the soil, crop rotation, sheep’s nutrition and health as well as parasite control. Synthetic pesticides, hormones, vaccines and genetical manipulation are forbidden. Good practices in stock raising and sheep farming are a given. 

The most important silk producer is the silk moth that is reared as a silk-producing domestic animal. During the past millennia the moth has been breeded so that it’s completely dependent on humans. The starting point in the silk production is also the well-being of the soil that produces the mulberry three leaves that are used to feed the worms. All synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are forbidden in organic silk farming. The mulberry trees are not grown on monocultures but together with various fruit trees and other plants mimicking their natural habitat. The diverse environment offers good living conditions to buzzing bees and other fauna.

Massive amounts of cotton is farmed globally but only a small amounts of it is organic. The reason is obvious when looking at the basic principles of organic cotton farming. They are organic fertilizing, biological pesticide control, hand-picking and social responsibility of farmers and their families. The more industrial way of producing cotton requires a lot of some of the world’s most harmful chemicals. The organic cotton production, on the other hand, requires more of an effort when for example the fertilizers and pesticides are produced by the farmers from nature’s own ingredients. They are safe to both the farmers, the soil and the environment.

The same strict criteria are defining the further refinement of the organic fibers. For example, the different wool colors are created using safe reactive dyes without chrome and heavy metal salts. The products are not treated with any finishes harmful to humans or nature. The products are manufactured and packed by Ruskovilla’s own professionals in Artjärvi Finland.

It all began with woolly nappy pants

Ruskovilla is a family business with its headquarters, production and warehouse located in Artjärvi, famous for its lakes attracting migratory birds, just 1,5 hours away from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. 

The Ruskovilla story began in the late 1970’s when Anneli Wahlsten and Mauno Mattsson, working at an electronics company in Helsinki at the time, needed a life change and decided to move to the quiet countryside of Artjärvi. In the summer the family made its living from organic farming and a berry farm, but additional income was needed for the winters. At the time only cloth nappies with plastic pants were available in Finland, so a lot of parents were interested in the woolen nappy pants and as well as woolen baby clothing manufactured in Sweden. The problem was that by the time the mail order items finally arrived in Finland they were already too small for the babies. 

So Anneli and Mauno headed over to Sweden to learn the art of wool clothes making. Anneli became familiar with sewing and Mauno learned about weaving, sewing machines, machine maintenance and cutting. Their van was heavily loaded with seaming machines, hemming machines and a rim cutter when they arrived back in Finland. In the fall of 1981 Ruskovilla was founded.

Our first products were woolen baby clothes such as nappy pants, rompers and a shirt still available today with renewed versions. The demand grew and already in the next year it was time to hire the first seamstress and expand the selection into children and adult clothing. To meet the customer needs other natural fibers, such as silk, silkwool and organic cotton, were added to the material selection. Soon the first international customers found Ruskovilla. Today the products are sold to for example Australia, Japan, China, South Africa, Israel and North America.

The growing company had many different addresses until 1991 when the old Artjärvi dairy became its permanent home with several new additions built over the years. Ruskovilla also turned into a genuine family business when Anneli’s daughter Leena and son-in-law Ossi started working at the company first as a temporary help. Today Leena is in charge of the products and Ossi has been the CEO since 1999. While the official generational change took place in the early 2000’s Anneli, today over 80 years old, is still active with the company’s ongoing activities sharing her vast knowledge with the younger generation.

Ruskovilla has always danced to the beat of its own drum. The first web shop was introduced next to mail order already in 1999. In order to ensure high quality, the production has never been outsourced and has always remained in Finland with the Finnish Key Flag Symbol granted in 1996. In 2018 Ruskovilla was the first to introduce organic silk to the Nordic markets and a year later the long transition to only organic materials was finalized. The core of the operations has always been listening and understanding customer needs and today there are many families with 4th and 5th generation Ruskovilla users. Today organic materials, high quality and transparent local production are more on trend than ever.

Ecology and high ethics have always been at the heart of our operations

When Anneli Wahlsten and Mauno Mattsson founded Ruskovilla in the early 1980’s they had the principle that clothing manufacturing should be done in a way that is least harmful for the well-being of both humans and nature. Having moved from a city to the countryside and already running an organic farm at the time they saw and appreciated the careful balance that occurs in the nature and wanted to maintain that. 

All of the material we currently use have been granted an organic raw material certificate. This means for example that the richness of the soil and ecosystem has to be maintained by utilizing crop rotation and avoiding monoculture. The use of chemical and other harmful substances during the possible dyeing and finishing processes is very limited and there are also strict rules for socially responsible manufacturing. The absence of any substances harmful to nature means that the products are also safe for us humans.

The products sewn by our skillful professionals in Artjärvi 

To ensure our high-quality standards we have never wanted to outsource our clothing manufacturing but instead made it transparent. Our trained staff working in the Artjärvi old dairy is being paid on a monthly basis instead by piecework in order to make sure that everyone has time to finish the products carefully. 

We have visited most of our material providers personally as well as paid close attention when choosing our suppliers for the selected items we don’t produce ourselves. All but few of the products we resell have been manufactured in Europe.

Every swatch is utilized

Circular economy has been part of our way of working before the term was even invented. As nature has been through so much in order to produce these precious fibers nothing should go to waste. For example, any undyed wool scrap left over from making our clothes and accessories is carded into duvet filling and all dyed scrap can be reused to produce rugs for industrial use. Our partners in this are Finnish companies Laatupeite, Dafecor and Pirtin Kehräämö. 

We also encourage our customers to wash and maintain their garments carefully. At the end of their lifecycle all 100% natural fibers will decompose and return back to nature.